Many of our favorite things find their birthday in 1955. Scrabble, McDonald's, Disneyland and rock & roll were all “born” that year. In 1955, two mothers gave birth to babies named Bill and Steve who would go on to change the world forever with their innovative contributions to technology.
Another woman gave birth that year to a world changer too. Before she could cut the cord, she and Elias were running into the bush as bullets whizzed by their heads.
Born into war and chaos, Elias Taban grew up in a world most of us could never imagine. Like many boys in the southern region of Sudan, he fought as a child soldier in the rebel army. But his love for God and desire for peace eventually drew him to the church which he now presides over as a Bishop.
A true visionary and eternal optimist, Bishop Taban never gave up on the hope of an independent nation of peace.
And while millions of South Sudanese have never had access to some of the most basic of human rights, they still cling to hope too.
Perhaps even more amazing is that even after 63 years of war, they still dream of becoming. Becoming a nation where early death is a surprise, not an expectation. Becoming a nation that feeds a continent. Becoming a nation of inventors, preachers, doctors, nurses, and teachers. Becoming a nation of hope for all religions, tribes, and nationalities. Becoming a nation of peace.
Bishop Elias Taban will tell you he was born into war and never really experienced anything else. But today, in many regions of the nation, there is peace.
Water is Basic is doubling down on its mandate to bring water to this nation’s people. Because water is basic... in times of war and in times of peace. Water sustains life. And ultimately, water helps transform becoming into reality.
As Bishop Taban, the South Sudanese, and the world commit again to the future of the world’s newest nation, we invite you to commit to them and to us in our efforts to bring clean water to the people of South Sudan, along with the future world changers they’re bringing into the world today.
Here is to another decade of clean water, innovation, hope, and dreams. Because a lot of good can happen in 63 years, just ask Bishop Taban.
